Mountain Biking at Pace Bend State Park in TX: What to Know
Quick tips for Mountain Biking at Pace Bend
There are a lot of great mountain biking trails around Austin, Texas. I spent almost two weeks there checking off as many rides as I could and one of my favorite destinations (which is also a local’s favorite) is Pace Bend.
It’s not a huge trail network, but it’s definitely worth a few hours of exploring. You’ll want to hit Wookiee Way, the trail to do at Pace Bend.
If it’s your first time visiting, this post covers everything you need to know about mountain biking at Pace Bend in Texas Hill Country.
Special thanks to Carey for showing me around! And sorry for the poor photos… I didn’t do a great job of documenting my ride at Pace Bend….
Quick Facts & FAQs
Q: Where is Pace Bend?
A: It’s located in Spicewood, Texas about 45 minutes northwest of Austin.
Q: Where do I park?
A: There are several parking areas to access the trails at Pace Bend. For mountain biking, I recommend parking at the main trailhead parking.
Q: What amenities are at the trailhead?
A: There are pit toilets just down the road (within walking distance). You can find water at the campground.
Q: Are e-bikes allowed?
A: Yes. Most of Texas is pretty e-bike friendly
Q: Are the trails well-signed?
A: Yes, but there are few maps – just trail signs. Have TrailForks downloaded to your phone.
Q: When is the best time to go?
A: Winter, spring, and fall. I visited Pace Bend in early March and the weather was perfect! Texas gets very hot in the summer, so I wouldn’t recommend riding then.
Q: Do I need to pay to ride?
A: Yes. There is a $5/person day use fee. Cash only – credit cards aren’t accepted.
Q: Are the trails open year-round?
A: Yep! Pace Bend does host several trail events throughout the year, though, so check their alerts page to make sure you don’t show up on race day.
Trail Map
My Honest Review
Overall rating
Is Pace Bend absolutely amazing? No. Is it worth a visit? Yes. I did enjoy riding the trails here, especially Wookiee Way and Rock Garden of Greatness (more on the trails below).
I wouldn’t say you need more than a day here if you’re on a Texas Hill Country mountain bike trip, but it is worth checking out for a few hours. My route recommendation below is a good ‘do-it-all-in-a-day’ for mountain biking at Pace Bend.
Average difficulty
The trails at Pace Bend aren’t all that difficult. The hardest trail – Rock Garden of Greatness – is a short moderate tech loop that I cleaned on my first try.
The blue trails – like Wookiee Way – have some slightly technical stretches (mainly thanks to rocks), but for the most part, Pace Bend is suitable for beginner and intermediate riders.
There is a fun little skills park off of Powerline Trail that has raised wooden skinnies, some jumps, and drops. It’s nothing crazy, but it’s fun to run through once or twice.
Trail variety
As I mentioned above, there isn’t much in the way of trail difficulty at Pace Bend and the same goes with trail variety. The terrain is primarily cross-country with a sprinkling of Texas Hill Country embedded rocks.
The two most notable trail anomalies are Rock Garden of Greatness, a short tech loop, and the skills park off of Powerline Trail.
Should you ride Pace bend?
What to love about it
What to not
Read next
Planning a mountain bike trip to Texas Hill Country? Here are a few more fun places to check out:
Best Trails at Pace Bend
Route Recommendations
The Best of Pace Bend
You really only need to spend one day at Pace Bend if you’re on a road trip or visiting Austin. This route covers all the best trails, in the best directions.
Trail Basics
Ride it for:
- Wookiee Way
- Cover all the best trails in one ride
- Good fun for minimal elevation gain
Need to know:
- While I don’t consider Pace Bend trails to be overly hard, there are still a lot of rocks
- Trails can be busy on the weekends
Route directions: Main Trailhead Parking > Pace Bend TH2 > Powerline > Well Road > Wookie Way (optional extensions) > Rock Garden of Greatness > Wookiee Way > Apache Pass > Tapeworm > Paleface Pass > South Croton > North Croton > Pack Trail > Powerline
Make it long: Add the South Trail Loop at the end of Wookiee Way
Need some new gloves?
I’ve been a fan of HANDUP Gloves for years and they continue to be my go-to choice for mountain bike gloves.
Not only are they super fun and not boring with lots of colors and pattern choices (ice cream cones?!), but they also last a lot longer than most bike gloves I’ve tried.
All HANDUP bike gloves are touchscreen compatible and they have a nice soft nose wipe on the thumb so you can discretely wipe your boogers away.
Post-ride enjoyment
Pace Bend is a nice state park situated on a sort of peninsula that is surrounded on all sides by Lake Travis (which is really the Colorado River, but not that Colorado River). If you have some time to explore, here are a few other things you can do at Pace Bend:
Have you mountain biked at Pace Bend? What did you think about Wookiee Way? Did you clean Rock Garden of Greatness? Leave a comment below!
I love hearing from you and appreciate your comments! However, if you leave a rude, unconstructive, or spammy comment, it will be deleted. It’s cool to be kind. Have an awesome day!